Using a Living Lab Methodology for Developing Energy Savings Solutions

It is becoming increasingly important to create a sustainable environment. One important step is to reduce the energy consumption. In Europe, 25% of the energy used is consumed by private households. How energy is produced and consumed in different European countries varies a lot, thus it is hard to develop general solutions based on country-specific traits. The aim of this paper is to describe an approach to cross-country development of an energy savings solution. This paper reports on the usage of a method based on collecting users needs related to their current energy consumption, the actions they can take, and the possible future solutions they want to see

Screening of energy efficient technologies for industrial buildings' retrofit

This chapter discusses screening of energy efficient technologies for industrial buildings' retrofit

Transition UGent: a bottom-up initiative towards a more sustainable university

The vibrant think-tank ‘Transition UGent’ engaged over 250 academics, students and people from the university management in suggesting objectives and actions for the Sustainability Policy of Ghent University (Belgium). Founded in 2012, this bottom-up initiative succeeded to place sustainability high on the policy agenda of our university. Through discussions within 9 working groups and using the transition management method, Transition UGent developed system analyses, sustainability visions and transition paths on 9 fields of Ghent University: mobility, energy, food, waste, nature and green, water, art, education and research. At the moment, many visions and ideas find their way into concrete actions and policies. In our presentation we focused on the broad participative process, on the most remarkable structural results (e.g. a formal and ambitious Sustainability Vision and a student-led Sustainability Office) and on recent actions and experiments (e.g. a sustainability assessment on food supply in student restaurants, artistic COP21 activities, ambitious mobility plans, food leftovers projects, an education network on sustainability controversies, a transdisciplinary platform on Sustainable Cities). We concluded with some recommendations and reflections on this transition approach, on the important role of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ and student involvement, on lock-ins and bottlenecks, and on convincing skeptical leaders

Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume

This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference „Sustainable Consumption – Towards Action and Impact“ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards “sustainable consumption” has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of “sustainable consumption”, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed

Co-production for innovation: the urban living lab experience

Urban Living Labs (ULLs) are public spaces where local authorities engage citizens to develop innovative urban services. Their strength and popularity stem from a methodology based on open innovation, experimentation, and citizen engagement. Although the ULL methodology is supposed to largely adopt a co-production approach, connections between the two have not yet been thoroughly investigated. The paper seeks to fill this gap by examining through a qualitative analysis three experiences of ULLs made in Amsterdam, Boston and Turin. Specifically, the paper aims to assess whether ULLs can be really conceptualised as a form of co-production and, if so, which elements characterised them as innovative in comparison to \u2018mainstreaming\u2019 co-production; Then it analyses benefits and drawbacks related to their implementation

Catalogue of existing good practice examples of programmes and interventions : Deliverable 2.1

This document (D2.1) provides an overview of the extensive data that has been collected on sustainable energy consumption initiatives as part of Work Package 2 (WP2) in ENERGISE. The deliverable provides a general introduction to the scope and objectives of WP2 specifically, as well as a short introduction as to how sustainable energy consumption initiatives are defined in ENERGISE. In addition, a full list is provided of 1000+ sustainable energy consumption initiatives that have been identified throughout Europe

Living Lab for Testing Digital Energy Solutions at JRC Ispra

The Living Lab for Testing Digital Energy Solutions (DES-Lab) aims at involving the JRC staff and stakeholders in testing the Living Lab method, with the objective to transform the JRC Ispra site into an Energy Living Lab. The project will serve as a tool to support site modernisation, as well as to reach ambitious energy performance objectives. The ongoing pilot phase of the project, expected to be concluded by December 2020, will most likely be postponed due to the force-majeure situation linked to the COVID-19 outbreak. The organisation of workshops to engage JRC Ispra staff is essential for the success of the project. To this purpose, a co-design workshop was organised on 30 January 2020 by unit C.3 jointly with Unit H.1, in collaboration with Units R.I.4, C.2 and C.4, and co-developed by Prof. Jöelle Mastelic and Dr. Francesco Cimmino, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland. The co-design workshop aimed at: - engaging the main stakeholders, and setting a common vision and objectives for the implementation of pilot use cases. - empowering the participants – JRC staff, in fostering a “practice what we preach” approach; - understanding the different individual perspectives, needs and barriers to enable the co-design of solutions closer to these needs, and to increase their adoption and uptake. The co-design workshop focused on three key subject matters, i.e.: - Smart charging systems for electric mobility, concentrating on staff needs and concerns, and commuting habits; - Energy efficiency and savings, particularly in terms of buildings’ energy monitoring and management systems; - Open data and visualisation, with the goal of opening and sharing energy-related data with the staff, as a first step. Commitment from senior management is crucial to ensure that the subsequent experimentation and piloting phases benefit from the necessary human, technical, and financial resources. The event was attended by over 50 participants, mostly JRC Ispra staff belonging to various Directorates and Units. Representatives from the Municipality of Milan in charge of the H2020 Sharing Cities project, and from the Italian start-up Cartender were also among the participants.JRC.C.3-Energy Security, Distribution and Market

A Small-Firm Perspective on the Benefits of Living Labs

Decreasing energy consumption is a global priority and the energy market is in constant change. The search for energy-saving innovations provides an opportunity to initiate a user-centered approach using the living labs model. This article describes how Process Vision, a small-yet-leading Northern European provider of energy IT systems, applied the livings labs approach to develop novel energy-efficiency management solutions. We discuss the company’s participation in the APOLLON consortium, a cross-border living labs initiative on energy efficiency. More specifically, we describe the Finland-based company’s experiences of a pilot project launched in the living lab and report on the perceived managerial challenges of applying the living labs approach from the perspective of a small fir

Understanding digital eco-innovation in municipalities: An institutional perspective

Municipalities consume over 67% of global energy and are responsible for over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that rapid adjustments need to happen at a global level, or the effects of climate change will be irreversible. The contribution of municipalities is therefore vital if GHG emissions are to be reduced. Our research is timely in its exploration of the ways in which municipalities institutionalise environmental sustainability practices in and through Green digital artefacts. Using mechanism-based institutional theory as a lens, the paper presents the findings of three contrasting case studies of large municipalities in the United Kingdom in their respective programmes to leverage the direct, enabling and systemic effects of Green ICT in order to reduce GHG emission and achieve their eco-sustainability goals. The case sites are also regarded as exemplars for further research and practice on digital eco-innovation. The mechanism-based explanations illustrate how a social web of conditions and factors influence eco-sustainability outcomes. We conclude that the digital technology-enabled grassroots-based initiatives offer the best hope to begin the transition to sustainable climate change within municipalities. The contributions of our study are therefore both theoretical and practical